admission

noun

ad·​mis·​sion əd-ˈmi-shən How to pronounce admission (audio)
ad-
plural admissions
Synonyms of admissionnext
1
: an act of admitting : the fact or state of being admitted: such as
a
: the act of allowing something for consideration before a court
A small number of jurisdictions adhere to the position that a defendant may not complain on appeal about the admission of illegally obtained evidence … if the defendant gave testimony at trial admitting possession of that evidence.—Wayne R. LaFave and Jerold H. Israel
b
: the right or permission to join or enter a place, a group, etc.
countries denied admission to NATO
c(1)
: the act or process of accepting someone as a student at a school
To a large degree, American education is organized for those who are already the best educated, a fact notoriously borne out in the college admissions process, where colleges compete for the top students and are rated by the percentage of these they attract.—Gerald Graff
(2)
: the fact of being accepted as a student at a school
Competition for admission to these pre-K schools is so extreme that private counselors are frequently retained … to guide the parents through the application process.—Jonathan Kozol
(3)
: someone who is so admitted
California State University will accept no new admissions for the spring semester of 2013 … as part of a drastic cost-cutting strategy to reduce enrollment by about 16,000 students next spring, officials said Monday.—Nanette Asimov
d
: the act or process of accepting someone into a hospital, clinic, or other treatment facility as an inpatient
The patient was unconscious upon admission to the hospital.
also : someone who is so admitted
Many new admissions are discharged after a day's examination. —Hanna L. Schussheim
2
: a fee paid for entering a place (such as a theater or museum)
a museum that offers reduced admission for children
3
a
: the granting of an argument or position not fully proved : the act of acknowledging something asserted
b
: acknowledgment that a fact or statement is true
c
: a revealing statement
an admission of failure
admissive
əd-ˈmi-siv How to pronounce admission (audio)
ad-
adjective

Synonyms

See all Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus 

Examples of admission in a Sentence

the admission of evidence in a court of law His statement was interpreted as an admission of failure. They opposed the admission of women into the club. Her injuries were serious enough to require hospital admission. a large number of hospital admissions The school's standards of admission are high. He submitted an application for admission to the school.
Recent Examples on the Web In two cases decided in 1875, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that controlling immigrant admissions to the U.S. was exclusively a federal matter. —TIME, 5 Apr. 2024 Israel’s swift public explanation and admission of guilt is rare, as is for such senior officers to be punished. —Christian Edwards, CNN, 5 Apr. 2024 The East Wing Highlights tours kick off July 15 and will be held daily through August, accessible through standard admission to the State Rooms at Buckingham Palace ($95 for adults) for an undisclosed extra charge. —Janine Henni, Peoplemag, 4 Apr. 2024 Rice’s lawyer, Texas state Sen. Royce West, made the admission that Rice was behind the wheel during a news conference in Texas on Thursday afternoon. —Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 4 Apr. 2024 The conflicts are arising after some parents formally organized in recent years over their anger at a proposal to overhaul admissions at the city’s specialized high schools. —Troy Closson, New York Times, 4 Apr. 2024 Khan was a guest on Monday’s episode of Comedy Central’s The Daily Show, and Stewart made the admission during the interview. —Abid Rahman, The Hollywood Reporter, 2 Apr. 2024 Austria vetoed Romania and Bulgaria’s admission into the Schengen zone at the end of 2022 but allowed Croatia full accession. —Stephen McGrath and Veselin Toshkov, Quartz, 31 Mar. 2024 The latest increment gives the film a total of $73.4 million earned from 10.2 million admissions. —Patrick Frater, Variety, 25 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'admission.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English admyssion, borrowed from Anglo-French, borrowed from Latin admissiōn-, admissiō "controlled mating (of animals), admittance to an interview," from admittere "to admit entry 1" + -tiōn-, -tiō, suffix of verbal action

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of admission was in the 15th century

Phrases Containing admission

Dictionary Entries Near admission

admissible

admission

Admission Day

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Admission.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/admission. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.

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Kids Definition

admission

noun
ad·​mis·​sion əd-ˈmish-ən How to pronounce admission (audio)
ad-
1
: the act of admitting
especially : an admitting of something that has not been proved
an admission of guilt
2
: the right or permission to enter
standards of admission to a school
3
: the price of entrance

Medical Definition

admission

noun
ad·​mis·​sion əd-ˈmi-shən, ad- How to pronounce admission (audio)
: the act or process of accepting someone into a hospital, clinic, or other treatment facility as an inpatient
The patient was unconscious upon admission to the hospital.
also : someone who is so admitted
Many new admissions are discharged after a day's examination. —Hanna L. Schussheim, The Washington Post

Legal Definition

admission

noun
ad·​mis·​sion
1
: the act or process of admitting
admission into evidence
2
a
: a party's acknowledgment that a fact or statement is true

Note: In civil cases admissions are often agreed to and offered in writing to the court before trial as a method of reducing the number of issues to be proven at trial.

b
: a party's prior out-of-court statement or action that is inconsistent with his or her position at trial and that tends to establish guilt compare confession, declaration against interest at declaration

Note: Under the Federal Rules of Evidence an admission is not hearsay. Silence can sometimes be construed as an admission where a person would reasonably be expected to speak up.

More from Merriam-Webster on admission

Nglish: Translation of admission for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of admission for Arabic Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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